GOING FOR GOLD: Four of the 12 global finalists for the 2018/19 International Woolmark prize were announced in London on Tuesday, Daniel W. Fletcher from U.K.; Nicholas Daley from U.K.; Edward Crutchley from U.K. and Cmmn Swdn from Sweden; and they will go on to compete for the final award which will be held in London in February.
They join the first four finalists whose names were announced earlier this month in Hong Kong: They are Zhi Chen of I-Am-Chen from China; Mooyeol Lee of Youser from South Korea; Yohei Ohno from Japan and Angel Chen from China.
The remaining four finalists will be revealed later this month in New York.
“Now in its seventh year the International Woolmark Prize has evolved into one of the biggest fashion awards of its caliber, and so we have restructured the program to ensure our nominees and finalists receive the highest level of industry support and guidance,” said Stuart McCullough, managing director of The Woolmark Company.
The prize showcases international young talent whose designs highlight the versatility of merino wool. Each of the finalists will be awarded $ 52,100, and over the course of the next few months, they’ll work on producing a capsule merino wool collection. Each collection will

GREEN SHOOTS: Livia Firth’s brand consultancy Eco-Age gathered industry figures, including Italian Chamber of Fashion president Carlo Capasa, entrepreneur Carmen Busquets and British Vogue editor in chief Edward Enninful, on the sidelines of Paris Couture Week to select the five finalists of its talent competition for emerging designers.
The 13 jury members met in a makeshift conference room in a stuffy apartment on Tuesday to look at the work of 10 shortlisted designers. The finalists will attend the second edition of The Green Carpet Fashion Awards, to be held on Sept. 23 at La Scala at the end of Milan Fashion Week.
The winner of the Franca Sozzani GCC Emerging Designer Award will have the opportunity to present at Milan Fashion Week in February, supported by the Italian Chamber of Fashion.
In addition, they will benefit from a one-year mentorship program with outlet center operator Value Retail, which runs 11 outlets under the heading of Bicester Village Shopping Collection. Their collections will be featured in The Creative Spot, a platform dedicated to showcase new talents at Fidenza Village, just outside of Milan.
The finalists are Gilberto Calzolari, whose look was created using jute coffee bags from Brazil; Teatum Jones, who created a dress made

The expected suitors for free agent Kirk Cousins, one of the league’s most productive quarterbacks over the past three years, are the Broncos, Cardinals, Vikings and Jets, sources tell ESPN.www.espn.com – NFL

PARIS — The second edition of the Loewe Craft Prize is set to cement its reputation as a magnet for the most avant-garde work in the field, with creations ranging from a blown glass sphere more than one meter wide to a ceramic bowl covered in red Ferrari car paint.
The brainchild of Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, the prize run by the Loewe Foundation drew close to 1,900 submissions from more than 75 countries.
Loewe on Thursday named the 30 finalists, and the winner — to be revealed on May 3 — will walk away with 50,000 euros. The list includes entries from as far afield as Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, Singapore, Chile, the U.S., Poland and the U.K., among others.
“The level has gone up, in terms of the types of people applying, ranging from amazing new people who you’ve never heard of, who are making things that are just fantastic, to incredibly well-known names,” said Anderson, noting the presence of established artists like Jennifer Lee and Takuro Kuwata, who both specialize in ceramics.
While the number of submissions is down by about half from the first edition, the designer sees this as a positive development. “It’s interesting that the level

After receiving more than 1,800 entries, Cumulus Media announced today the five artists selected as finalists for its inaugural neXt2rock competition. The winner of this four-month-long project will receive a record deal with Big Machine/John Varvatos Records, as well as exposure on Cumulus radio stations. These five emerging artists will be judged in the finale […]

FUNDING FASHION: The British Fashion Council and British Vogue have unveiled the 2017 contenders for the BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund. They are Huishan Zhang, Mother of Pearl, Osman, Palmer Harding, Shrimps, Sophie Hulme and Toogood.
The designers will be evaluated by the fund committee on Feb. 2, at Breather.com in Covent Garden, and the winner will be announced on April 4. As reported, the fund has amended its format this year with the 200,000 pound, or $ 248,785 at current exchange, prize to be split among three winners. The recipients will receive assistance with business development and mentoring through BFC’s Business Support team.
The shortlisted designers were selected by a panel of judges including Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue and chair of the fund committee; Caroline Rush, chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council, and a mix of retailers, designers, press and creatives.
“All the designers have demonstrated incredible talent and strong business skills,” said Rush. “I believe they all have the potential to become the U.K.’s next global brands, and the new format of the fund will help them achieve that goal.”
Shulman said the funding is specifically designed to help the designers’ businesses in a very targeted way “so that it can

On Monday night, a bit of the Midwest came to New York City for the announcement of the Caleres Emerging Designer Award finalists, presented by the Saint Louis Fashion Fund. Designers from six brands were recognized in contention for the award, a $ 25,000 grant to be chosen on Nov. 4, during Saint Louis Fashion Week: Julie Haus and Jason Alkire of Haus Alkire, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of Eckhaus Latta, Azede Jean-Pierre, Katharine Polk of Houghton, Brandon Sun, and Jordana Warmflash of Novis.
The announcement came in the form of a cocktail party, held at the Caleres (formerly known as Brown Shoe Company) and Sam Edelman showroom in Midtown Manhattan, and hosted by Diane Sullivan, chief executive officer, president and chairman of Caleres, along with Sam and Libby Edelman, Tomoko Ogura, Roopal Patel, Lisa Perry and Gary Wassner. Before presenting the finalists, Elizabeth Tucker, creator of Saint Louis Fashion Week, gave a brief introduction about the importance of the program. “The startup scene is booming in the city of Saint Louis, so I would love to recognize Diane Sullivan for her vision and realizing that a huge part of this equation is attracting, retraining and developing designers as a part of

The 2015-16 International Woolmark Prize global finalists have all been decided.
The six men’s wear finalists will compete in January at Pitti Uomo in Florence, while the six women’s wear finalists will face off in New York in February.
The six men’s wear nominees are Munsoo Kwon (Asia); P. Johnson (Australia); Agi & Sam (British Isles), Jonathan Christopher (Europe) Suketdhir (India, Pakistan and Middle East), and Siki Im (U.S.).
The six women’s wear nominees are J Koo (Asia), Bianca Spender (Australia), Teatum Jones (British Isles), Nanna van Blaaderen (Europe), Taller Marmo (India, Pakistan and Middle East), and Tanya Taylor (U.S.).
“The International Woolmark Prize is a truly global celebration of emerging talent,” said Stuart McCullough, managing director of The Woolmark Co. “The competition not only allows the participating designers to share their vision on the world’s stage, it provides them with the opportunity for far-reaching commercial success.”
Ultimately, the two winners will receive $ 100,000 Australian dollars, or about $ 73,000 at current exchange rate and the opportunity to have their collection carried in Harvey Nichols in London; 10 Corso Como in Milan, Beijing and Shanghai; Matchesfashion.com; Mytheresa.com; Saks Fifth Avenue in the U.S.; Joyce in China; Isetan Mitsukoshi in Japan; Boutique 1 in the United Arab

On Tuesday, the two U.S. winners of the 2015-16 regional Woolmark Prize will be selected at Milk Studios Penthouse in New York.
Five women’s wear and five men’s wear designers will compete for the two spots and the opportunity to participate in the international finals. One men’s wear and one women’s wear designer will be selected by a jury based on sketches of a six-piece merino wool capsule collection, with one garment actually produced. The two winners will receive a financial contribution of 50,000 Australian dollars, or about $ 37,000 at the current exchange rate, toward their next collection.
In addition to New York, five other regional competitions take place in London, Shanghai, Sydney, British Isles, Dubai, and Antwerp, Belgium. Two winners from each region will go on to compete in the international finals. The international men’s wear final will be held at Pitti Uomo in Florence in January, and the six women’s wear finalists will meet in New York in February.
The two international winners will receive $ 100,000 Australian dollars, or about $ 74,200, each and the opportunity to have their collection carried in Harvey Nichols in London; 10 Corso Como in Milan, Beijing and Shanghai; Matchesfashion.com; Mytheresa.com; Saks Fifth Avenue in the U.S.;

The American Society of Magazine Editors revealed the nominees for its annual National Magazine Awards during an hour-long Twittercast Thursday.

A total of 66 outlets were nominated across two dozen categories, with publications competing for distinctions in everything from reporting to fiction to design to video. Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, The Hollywood Reporter, New York and Vogue, however, are the five publications in the running for the group’s most esteemed award, Magazine of the Year. Bloomberg Businessweek, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Politico and The New Republic are also among the magazines to receive multiple nominations.

“The National Magazine Awards 2015 finalists demonstrate the enduring power of magazine journalism in print and on websites and mobile,” Sid Holt, chief executive of ASME, said in a statement. “Whether it’s politics, fashion, sports or the kind of service journalism that only magazines can do, readers know that their favorite print and digital magazines are where to find information and entertainment they can trust.”

A handful of memorable articles are also up for top prizes. Monica Lewinsky’s “Shame and Survival,” for Vanity Fair, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ long-form cover story “The Case for Reparations,” for The Atlantic, are both finalists for ASME’s Essays and Criticism award, which “honors interpretative and critical journalism.”